Back to the Future self-lacing trainers patent filed by Nike

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Remember the uber-cool self-lacing trainers that featured in Back to the Future II? If you don’t, firstly there’s no way we’re ever going to be friends. Secondly, hit the video below to check them out.

Remember now? Well today those trainers took one small step towards becoming a reality after news has spread that Nike have filed a patent with an aim towards possibly developing a pair. Lights, recharging batteries as well as the auto-tying could all feature should they ever be fully developed.

While one side of me would kill to have a pair of motorised auto-lacing Nike trainers, the other half of me would always be worried that they’d get wet in the rain and go into meltdown, lopping off my feet in the process. That would not be cool. The below clip of a custom job however is the very definition of cool.

For the record, considering Back to the Future II’s 1989 release date and the movie’s time-travelling now-near-future setting, figuring out whether to file this story under “Retro Gear” or “Future Gear” nearly caused me to have some sort of minor existential breakdown. That’s what you get when you mess with the space/time continuum I suppose.